Pastrami and Cucumber Sandwich Bites

A few days ago I saw a post from Make The Best of Everything on how to make cucumber subs and I thought it was such a neat idea for anyone looking for a gluten free/grain free bread substitute for sandwiches. As it turns out, it also got my dining companion thinking. He thought it would be a great idea to slice the cucumber and make finger sandwiches instead. He must have been really excited about it too, because yesterday he called me at work to tell me he went to the grocery store to pick up sandwich fixings so we could make them for dinner. And make them we did. Absolutely delicious!

The great part about making them this size is that you can treat it like a buffet – slice some cucumbers, some other veggies, some meat, and maybe some cheese (if you eat dairy) and then pick and choose your ingredients to make each cucumber sandwich unique. It might even be a fun idea for kids – sort of a “create your own dinner” night. I mean, who doesn’t like to play with their food? These are also a wonderful size for appetizers or snacks. Also, if you have a potluck coming up, you could easily make a tray of assorted sandwich bites to bring along.

So here are a few ideas that we tried:

Cucumber Sandwich #1: The Red and Purple

For this one, use two cucumber slices as your “bread”, add a bit of pastrami, a slice of tomato, a slice of mozzarella cheese, and two slices of radish. Eat as is, or top with a bit of brown mustard for a kick.

Cucumber Sandwich #2: The Dairy Free

For the dairy free version, use two cucumber slices for the top and bottom, add a slice of pastrami, some baby romaine lettuce, a slice of tomato, two slices of carrots, and top with some spicy brown mustard. Actually, dijon mustard would probably be quite tasty too.

Cucumber Sandwich #3: The New York Deli

Waaaaay back when (oy!) when I was a kid, when you bought a sandwich at the deli, they would always give you a dill pickle with it – either a full one or a slice, depending on the deli. A lot of times they would just wrap it up in the deli paper along with the sandwich… which, ok, did occasionally make your sandwich a little soggy, I won’t lie to ya. BUT… but… somehow it just made it more delicious. For whatever reason, NY delis don’t seem to do this anymore… probably because so few nowadays make their own pickles? That’s a tradition I’d like to see come back. In any case, the link between sandwich and dill pickle is firmly cemented in my brain forever more – so, of course, I had to make a pastrami sandwich with a pickle on it. (Yes I’m putting aside that cucumbers are technically just pre-pickles. They don’t count until they’re brined!)

So for this sandwich, use two cucumber slices for the top and bottom, a slice of pastrami, a pickle slice, a piece of lettuce from a spring mix, mozzarella cheese, and a tomato slice. You don’t even really need any condiments on this because of the pickle, but if you do, I suggest NY deli style brown mustard for the full experience.

We also tried red bell pepper on a few, which was very tasty. I had also thought it would be neat to try pastrami and sauerkraut to make an almost-Reuben sandwich, but my sauerkraut is still fermenting, so it wasn’t ready to use yet. If someone does try it, let me know how it turns out.

They are so tasty and so much fun to put together. They are definitely worth trying out. One tip – don’t stack them too high or they will fall apart when you try to take a bite! (But, even if you do, it will be totally worth the mustard on your chin. Promise.)